Thanks! But yeah, I'm looking for more of a direct comparison from someone who has played both.
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Quilter Bass Block v803
- Thread starter gtirard
- Start date
How's the "bottomless limiter" working out?
On the fence on this one solely because I really don't NEED another amp...it would replace an older tech pre & power amp rack box. Looks like a decent deal for 7 bills which goes head-to-head with some of the older, obsolete gear I'm seeing in the classifieds.
Riis
On the fence on this one solely because I really don't NEED another amp...it would replace an older tech pre & power amp rack box. Looks like a decent deal for 7 bills which goes head-to-head with some of the older, obsolete gear I'm seeing in the classifieds.
Riis
The cabsim on the DI sounds great with IEMs. The nuances of the warm and qtube voices translate well in the monitor mix. Nice bite and grit with aggressive picking and big thump fingerstyle with the tone rolled off.
Speaking only for myself, the limiter was one of the first things I noticed when I bought my BB800 in 2019. Coming from 90's era gear, my impression was that the Quilter was much more forgiving and required very little setup to sound great. Just set everything at noon and make minor adjustments for the room. Now I don't even think about it.
I asked myself "Do I really, really need it? Does it add something that I lack with the BB800, and if 'yes' does that rectify the money?"
Conclusion is 'no', 'a little' and 'no'. So I returned the V803 to the store to get my €800 back.
I A/B tested the BB800 and the V803 and of course the V803 has got more features and the possibility of controlling the sort and amount of grid one can add to the sound, but the bottom line is that I don't need all of that. I don't like/use a gritted sound and in the mix of my bands the BB800 does a great job with the sound I like and it's got the simplicity I prefer.
Please feel free to change my mind
Conclusion is 'no', 'a little' and 'no'. So I returned the V803 to the store to get my €800 back.
I A/B tested the BB800 and the V803 and of course the V803 has got more features and the possibility of controlling the sort and amount of grid one can add to the sound, but the bottom line is that I don't need all of that. I don't like/use a gritted sound and in the mix of my bands the BB800 does a great job with the sound I like and it's got the simplicity I prefer.
Please feel free to change my mind
Why would we want to change your mind?I asked myself "Do I really, really need it? Does it add something that I lack with the BB800, and if 'yes' does that rectify the money?"
Conclusion is 'no', 'a little' and 'no'. So I returned the V803 to the store to get my €800 back.
I A/B tested the BB800 and the V803 and of course the V803 has got more features and the possibility of controlling the sort and amount of grid one can add to the sound, but the bottom line is that I don't need all of that. I don't like/use a gritted sound and in the mix of my bands the BB800 does a great job with the sound I like and it's got the simplicity I prefer.
Please feel free to change my mind
If you don't need the extra features of the 803, and you already own the 800, then keep it… (or get a refund for the 803 and get back your 800 if you can).
I'm using the "Warm" and "Qtube" voices depending on the gig, an the scoop input as well, but if you never need them, why worry?
There are lots of tiny other improvements on the 803.
- The "mute" led on the left side of the 800 is replaced by a "mute / peak" led on the 803. I find this very useful even with the modern voice, it shows when the limiter is engaged.
- The XLR out is now post EQ but before the master volume (post everything on the 800).
- Gnd / Lift / Auto switch for the XLR out
Etc.
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I get to find out on Saturday - my first all IEM gig. It should be interesting and educational at least. I will toggle the voicing switch just for fun since it doesn't seem to dramatically affect volume. I can't hear a ton of difference among the settings through headphones, but that's hardly at gig intensity, so we'll see.
Ah ah, you are right. If I didn't care for the new features of the 803, I would have kept the 800:
- It has a special "mojo"/ belongs to the legend of bass amps…
- That minimalism taken to perfection - including the smart 2 knobs EQ that I love (I like to know that I can use a semi-parametric mid if I need to, but the fact is that I've never needed it since I've owned the 803)
- A better much better legibility in a dark stage (label above the knobs, written in white on a black enclosure). Yesterday evening I played a gig with the 803 on a very dark stage, I had to bend and use the light from my iPhone to adjust the settings, not to mention the fact that the EQ knobs are "inverted" (bass on the right side, treble on the left, I hate that)
Huh, as a long-time GK user, the 803 knob arrangement is pretty intuitive to me, including treble on the left. It took about 30 seconds to find a sound! I nearly bit on the 800 when it first came out, but the unusual control scheme made me pause. I now feel at home on the 803. It's great that the essence of the two are the same amp. I don't feel like I missed anything by waiting on this generation. But if one is happy with the 800, the 803 isn't necessarily an "upgrade", it's more of a "refinement".
I haven't sold my BB800 yet. Even with all the refinements and features on the V803 (that I find quite useful), I know I could go back to the original and get along quite well.
I kept my BB802 and have it in one of my BD12s. It's the main amp I use at home. Th v803 is mounted in the BD10 and is sitting there with its cover on as it is my main gigging amp.
That's exactly what it is, a refinement.
And since I'm not that refined myself, I guess that's why I feel comfortable with the 800
I just ordered mine and am running the same cab. What settings do you Like with that VB212? I find it pretty mid forward so I assume I'll use the scooped input.
Mine should arrive tomorrow!
But what a refinement it is! Like @gtirard, I find both the warm voicing and, surprisingly, the scooped input to provide a very sweet voice, even through my horn-equipped AK 112. The "dual-limiting" thing really plays well with the B-string. It's hard to describe, but it really adds a "grunt" and the little single 12" Eminence really sounds comfortable - no harsh clipping, even with a hard attack. I do use some compression ahead of it, but leave the limiting to the amp. Yeah, pretty refinedThat's exactly what it is, a refinement.
And since I'm not that refined myself, I guess that's why I feel comfortable with the 800
.
Having had the V803 for a while now, I appreciate it even more than before. In my usage its usually getting used as a headphone amp, which is probably a travesty of the true power of this amp. OTOH, it always always sounds great playing anything. I use the flat input, and usually the warm setting.
Sorry, feeling fanboi-ish today.
Sorry, feeling fanboi-ish today.
Here's a sound sample. Scooped input, warm voicing, EQ flat, gain 1 o'clock, master 10 o'clock. Using the neck pickup with the tone around 75%.
I've gone back and forth with it mid scooped or not… in the room with the 212 I definitely like the mid scoop a hair more , but don't hate it mid forward either.
I'm finding the mid controls super at adding the mids back in using "scooped". It must be a fairly subtle scoop because it doesn't take much to fill them back in.
